Pollution skimmer

ABSTRACT

A skimmer for removing supernatant matter such as oil from a liquid such as water is disclosed having a base portion containing a centrally located drain and a plurality of troughs extending outwardly laterally from the drain but somewhat skewed relative to radii from the drain to aid in the formation of a vortex within the drain. The base portion is supported by a like plurality of laterally extending wings each having a density less than that of the liquid and each independently adjustably affixed to the base portion so that the elevation of the base portion relative to the liquid surface may be varied. A drain tube is connected to the lower end of the drain and after passing through a pump discharges the matter which is entering the drain into a surface material receptacle which may be a multiple outlet container for separating immiscible liquids. A V-shaped weir partially surrounding the base and wings and mechanically connected thereto may be provided for use if the skimmer in flowing liquids and the skimmer, weir and pump may all be mechanically interconnected so as to float as a unit.

United States Patent Hoffman Aug. 21, 1973 POLLUTION SKIMMER [76]Inventor: Benedict J. Hoffman, 2230 Chestnut [571 ABSTRACT St. Fort Wane 1 d. A skimmer for removing supernatant matter such as oil f 1"dht'd'ldh'b rom a [(11.11 suc as wa er 15 18C ose avmg a ase [22] June1971 portion containing a centrally located drain and a plu- [21] Appl.No.: 151,699 rality of troughs extending outwardly laterally from thedrain but somewhat skewed relative to radii from the drain to aid in theformation of a vortex within the [22] $8.81 210/242, drain. The baseportion is Supponed by a like plurality f i 3 G of laterally extendingwings each having a density less [5 1 o earch 21 than that of the liquidand each independently adjustably affixed to the base portion so thatthe elevation of the base portion relative to the liquid surface may be[56] References Cited varied. A drain tube is connected to the lower endof UNITED STATES PATENTS the drain and after passing through a pumpdischarges 3,628,664 12/1971 Stanwood 210/169 the matter which isentering the drain into a surface 3,547,553 12/1970 Stanfield 2l0/DIG.21 material receptacle which may be a multiple outlet 2,330,508 9/1943McCall 210/242 container for separating immiscible liquids A vshapedweir partially surrounding the base and wings mero e a 513,787 l/1894Hogan 210 242 and mechamcany connected there, may be pmvded PrimaryExaminerSamih N. Zaharna Assistant Examiner-T. A. GrangerAttorney-Jeffers and Rickert for use if the skimmer in flowing liquidsand the skimmer, weir and pump may all be mechanically interconnected soas to float as a unit.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PAIENTEDAuw ma 3753.497

SHEEI 1 BF 2 F I G.- 2

INVENTOR BENEDICT J. HOFFMAN BY WM ATTORNEYS PAlENIEmuszl ms 3.7533197SIEEI 2 0f 2 INVENTOR BENEDICT J. HOFFMAN BY M ATTORNEYS POLLUTIONSKIMMER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a skimmerand more particularly to a skimmer for removing surface pollutants suchfor example as oil from a body of moving or calm water. Smaller versionsof the present invention may be used in a swimming pool or other smallbody of water for removing surface pollutants and in larger versions thepresent invention may be adapted to removing large oil slicks fromoceans or lakes to protect beaches and animal life. A V-shaped weireffective to channel a flowing liquid into the skimmer may be used inmoving water environments. Skimmers are, of course, known in the priorart and run the complete spectrum from extremely large skimmers such asthat illustrated in US. Pat. No. 3,534,859, to Amero et al. which isdesigned solely for removing large oil slicks to the skimmer illustratedin US. Pat. No. 275,134 which is to be used in a barrel to always removethe liquid from the barrel from the liquid surface so as to avoidremoving sediment from the barrel. The prior art skimmers as illustratedby these two United States patents suffer from a number of drawbacks.Large scale skimmers are cumbersome and lack versatility. The creationof a vortex in the drain portion of these skimmers is by accident ratherthan intentionally introduced. The prior art skimmers are generallylimited in the type material which may be removed from the surface. Forexample, the Amero et al. skimmer removes only oil and will not removeflotsam. The Amero et al. screen may become easily clogged and the Amerodevice is not suitable for use in a moving body of water such as astream.

Accordingly, it is one object of the present invention to provide aversatile skimmer usable in a variety of environments.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device forremoving floating contaminants which is not restricted in the types ofcontaminants that may be removed.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device forremoving supernatant matter from a liquid which is adaptable to avariety of conditions.

The foregoing as well as other objects and advantages of the presentinvention will appear more clearly from the following detaileddisclosure read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a top view of the skimmer,pump and weir of the present invention joined together as an integralunit;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the skimmer of FIG. 1 along thebroken cross sectional line 22; and

FIG. 3 is a partially schematic showing of the skimmer, pump and surfacematerial separating receptacle illustrating a complete system for thepresent invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Considering first FIG. 2 whichshows a cross sectional view of the skimmer of the present invention,the skimmer is seen to consist of a plurality of laterally extendingwings I] or other means for supporting the skimmer in a liquid. Thesewings are, of course, less dense than the liquid and provide thefloating support for the skimmer structure. The wings are attached to a2 base portion 13 by means of a pair of screws 15 and 17 in conjunctionwith a fulcrum 19 so that each individual wing 11 is independentlyadjustable to raise or lower the base portion 13 in the liquid. Thus,for example, to lower the wing 11 and thus raise the base 13 further outof the water in the area of the particular wing being adjusted screw 15would be loosened somewhat and screw 17 tightened. Each of the wings maybe adjusted in this manner to allow leveling for an all around flow orto compensate the skimmer attitude in a flowing stream environment. Thebase portion 13 of the skimmer is provided with a plurality of troughshaving bottoms 21 and side walls 23. The piece forming the side walls 23is as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 configured similar to thecorresponding overlying portion of the wing and thus these side wallsare seen in FIG. 1 only near the center of the base. The trough sidewalls near the center of the base provide a point of attachment for atransporting ring 25 which is screwed to the base by means of screw 27.The trough bottom 21 reaches its highest point at 29 and from thereontoward the center forms the beginnings of a funnel-like drain into whichsupernatant matter such as a surface liquid or other pollutant may flow.This drain is centrally disposed in the base portion of the skimmer andthe lower portion of the drain 31 is, for example, threaded to allow theattachment of a drain tube. Such a drain tube 33 is illustrated in FIGS.1 and 3.

Turning now to FIG. 1 which illustrates a top view of the skimmermechanically interconnected with a V- shaped weir 35 which the skimmermay be used in conjunction with when it is desired to skim supernatantmatter from a flowing body of water, the skimmer is attached to the weirby a series of ribs or lines 37. A pump 39 is also mechanicallyinterconnected with the V-shaped weir 35 and is, of course, in circuitwith the drain tube 33. In flowing water environments, the open end ofthe V-shaped weir or baffle 35 is directed up stream so as to collectthe oncoming surface material.

As seen in FIG. 1, the skimmer (with or without the weir) has thetroughs as well as the inner portions of the laterally extending wingsskewed somewhat relative to radii extending from the center of thedrain. These troughs are skewed so as to induce a vortex within thedrain to speed up the drainage portion of the skimming operation. Asillustrated in the top view of FIG. 1, the liquid entering the drainwill tend to have counterclockwise vortices induced due to this skewingof the troughs. This counterclockwise vortex is, of course, best suitedfor use in the Southern Hemisphere and the direction of skewing of thetroughs and wings might be reversed from that shown in FIG. 1 for askimmer to be used in the Northern Hemisphere.

While FIG. 1 illustrates the pump as being supported near the vortex ofthe weir, the pump may be provided with a floatation collar 41 and floatindependently as illustrated in FIG. 3 or could be hung from the side ofa swimming pool if the skimmer were to be used in that environment.Further in the case, of for example, a small home swimming pool the pump39 may be eliminated entirely and siphonage relied upon to effect theskimming process. The somewhat schematically illustrated embodiment ofFIG. 3 illustrates the pump 39 as a sump pump type structure combinedwith a small recovery tank 43. The liquid flowing into the recovery tank43 is, of course, pumped out by the pump 39 and into a surface materialreceptacle 45 which is here illustrated as a container for separating aplurality of immiscible liquids. The entire drain tube of course has oneend attached to the skimmer and the other end extending into thereceptacle which may be provided with a concave bottom 47 to aid in theseparation of the two immiscible liquids. As illustrated, the receptacleis partially filled with a less dense liquid such as oil 49 and a moredense liquid such as water 51 and has an oilwater interface 53 betweenthe two immiscible liquids. A plurality of outlets 55 and 57 areprovided to periodically drain off the thus separated liquids. Theseoutlets are of course at different elevations so that a given outletprovides a drain for a given one of the liquids.

The receptacle 45 may be made of glass or provided with a transparentwindow section so that the respective volumes of liquids within thereceptacle may be monitored or a sight tube 59 having two or more ductscommunicating with the tank may be provided.

Thuswhile the present invention has been described with respect topreferred embodiments, numerous modifications will suggest themselves tothose of ordinary skill in the art and accordingly the scope of thepresent invention is to be measured only by that of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A device for removing floating contaminants from the surface of abody of liquid comprising:

a solid base portion having an outer periphery and a centrally disposeddrain to which a drain tube may be attached:

a plurality of laterally extending divergent fluid conducting troughsconstructed and arranged within the thickness of said base with a firstend located adjacent to and'communicating with said drain and a secondend located at the outer periphery of said base, said solid base portionthickness providing a pair of side walls and a bottom wall for eachtrough with each trough being somewhat skewed relative to radii fromsaid centrally disposed drain to impart a somewhat tangential directionto a liquid flow through the troughs to thereby aid in the formation ofa vortex in the said drain:

a plurality of laterally extending divergent longitudinal wing-likemembers constructed and arranged to float on a body of liquid, each saidmember having a first end and a second end, said first ends arrangedaround said base portion and adjustably pivotably connected thereto,said second ends extending beyond said base portion outer periphery andcomprising float means for buoyantly supporting the device in a liquid,there being a like plurality of troughs and wing-like members with thespace between adjacent float means disposed in general alignment with acorresponding trough, each wing-like member being adjustable about itspivot to allow the base portion to be supported in a body of liquid withthe trough bottom walls somewhat below the surface of the liquid wherebysurface material may flow inwardly between adjacent float means throughsaid troughs and into said drain;

a drain tube attached at one end to said drain; and

a surface material receptacle remote from said drain,

said drain tube other end positioned to allow dis" charge of surfacematerials into said receptacle.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said drain tube other end is positionedbelow said liquid surface so that surface materials flow from saidliquid surface through said drain tube and into said receptacle bysiphonage.

3. The device of claim 1 further comprising means in circuit with saiddrain tube for pumping said surface materials through said drain tubewhereby said drain tube other end need not necessarily be below saidliquid surface.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein said receptacle comprises a containerfor separating immiscible liquids having different densities, saidcontainer having an inlet adapted to be connected to said drain tubeother end and having a plurality of outlets at different elevations, agiven outlet providing a drain for a given one of said liquids.

5. The device of claim 1 further comprising a baffle partiallysurrounding said base and said wing-like members for channeling flowingliquid and contaminants toward said drain. 7

6. The device of claim 3 further comprising a baffle partiallysurrounding said base and said wing-like members for channeling flowingliquid and contaminants toward said drain;

said baffle, said base and attached wing-like members, and said pumpingmeans being mechanically interconnected so as to float on said liquid asa single unit.

1. A device for removing floating contaminants from the surface of abody of liquid comprising: a solid base portion having an outerperiphery and a centrally disposed drain to which a drain tube may beattached: a plurality of laterally extending divergent fluid conductingtroughs constructed and arranged within the thickness of said base witha first end located adjacent to and communicating with said drain and asecond end located at the outer periphery of said base, said solid baseportion thickness providing a pair of side walls and a bottom wall foreach trough with each trough being somewhat skewed relative to radiifrom said centrally disposed drain to impart a somewhat tangentialdirection to a liquid flow through the troughs to thereby aid in theformation of a vortex in the said drain: a plurality of laterallyextending divergent longitudinal winglike members constructed andarranged to float on a body of liquid, each said member having a firstend and a second end, said first ends arranged around said base portionand adjustably pivotably connected thereto, said second ends extendingbeyond said base portion outer periphery and comprising float means forbuoyantly supporting the device in a liquid, there being a likeplurality of troughs and wing-like members with the space betweenadjacent float means disposed in general alignment with a correspondingtrough, each wing-like member being adjustable about its pivot to allowthe base portion to be supported in a body of liquid with the troughbottom walls somewhat below the surface of the liquid whereby surfacematerial may flow inwardly between adjacent float means through saidtroughs and into said drain; a drain tube attached at one end to saiddrain; and a surface material receptacle remote from said drain, saiddrain tube other end positioned to allow discharge of surface materialsinto said receptacle.
 2. The device of claim 1 wherein said drain tubeother end is positioned below said liquid surface so that surfacematerials flow from said liquid surface through said drain tube and intosaid receptacle by siphonage.
 3. The device of claim 1 furthercomprising means in circuit with said drain tube for pumping saidsurface materials through said draIn tube whereby said drain tube otherend need not necessarily be below said liquid surface.
 4. The device ofclaim 1 wherein said receptacle comprises a container for separatingimmiscible liquids having different densities, said container having aninlet adapted to be connected to said drain tube other end and having aplurality of outlets at different elevations, a given outlet providing adrain for a given one of said liquids.
 5. The device of claim 1 furthercomprising a baffle partially surrounding said base and said wing-likemembers for channeling flowing liquid and contaminants toward saiddrain.
 6. The device of claim 3 further comprising a baffle partiallysurrounding said base and said wing-like members for channeling flowingliquid and contaminants toward said drain; said baffle, said base andattached wing-like members, and said pumping means being mechanicallyinterconnected so as to float on said liquid as a single unit.